The Fire Services Department received the alarm at 10:49pm reporting a blaze in a unit on the 13th floor of Man Yuen Building.
One hose and two apparatus teams were deployed to combat the blaze, which was largely extinguished approximately one hour later. Around 300 residents evacuated on their own or with assistance from firefighters to safe areas.
“The affected unit, measuring 6 metres by 8 metres, had been subdivided into nine smaller units”, Assistant Divisional Officer Tso Kwong-chi told a press briefing at the scene.
Tso said the fire originated in the innermost unit, where firefighters discovered a body of a 71-year-old man. Two men and two women were rescued from the scene with injuries.
Tso added that scaffolding had been erected around the building’s exterior. In the early stages of the fire, he said firefighters had taken steps to suppress flames from the outside, preventing further spread.
A Rapid Response Team later inspected the building’s fire safety systems, confirming they were fully operational, Tso said. The fire alarm had sounded promptly at the outset, and the building held a valid annual inspection certificate.
